Patra Ni Macchi (Fish cooked in Banana Leaf)
I enjoy making this dish at home. Though it may seem like too much work, the end result of this dish is absolutely amazing. It’s fresh, it’s delicious and full of flavour

A 6 silver pomfrets, cleaned and cut into 2 pieces. This will give you 12 individual pomfret slices
B 8 banana leaves, each banana leaf can be cut into halves. Keep extra handy.
C Thread, regular one available at home
D 5 cups of water

Method:
1 In a mixer, first grind the coconut, the mint, coriander, chillies and garlic. Add 3 tsp of water to help with grinding.
2 Once the same has been ground properly, squeeze the juice of 1 lime and add salt. Blend this mixture again so that the salt and the lime juice has mixed with the chutney. Taste to make sure that the salt is as per your liking.
3 Finally, add the sugar last and give the chutney a quick whirl.
4 You can make this overnight and keep
5 Cut the pomfrets into individual slices.
6 Take a piece of pomfret and place it on the banana leaf. Coat the same with a good dollop of chutney. Once one side is covered do this on the other side also.
7 Fold the banana leaf in into a packet and tie it with the thread. If you see any tears in the leaf, use one of the extra pieces to wrap it so that it covers the spot and tie it.
8 Do this to all the pieces. Make sure that it is tied properly, so that the chutney doesn’t spill out of the casing
9 To cook, place them in a steel vessel and cover it. Add 4 cups of water in a deep-bottomed cooker and steam the fish for 10 minutes. I remove the whistle of the cooker, since I don’t have a steamer. It is best to cover the vessel that holds the fish, so that there is no extra water that goes inside it. Even if it does, don’t panic. It will not ruin your dish.
10 Serve with some onions or salad of your preference.